77 Erikson later replaced the term Role Confusion with
Identity Diffusion. In essence they mean the same.
6. Intimacy v Isolation
To lose and find oneself in another
Reciprocal love for and with another
person. Intimacy means the process of achieving relationships with
family and marital or mating partners. Erikson explained this stage also in terms of sexual mutuality - the giving and
receiving of physical and emotional connection, support, love, comfort, trust, and all the other elements that we
would typically associate with healthy adult relationships conducive to mating and child-rearing. There is a strong
reciprocal feature in the intimacy experienced during this stage - giving and receiving - especially between sexual or
marital partners. Isolation conversely means being and feeling excluded
from the usual life experiences of dating and mating and mutually loving relationships. This logically is
characterized by feelings of loneliness, alienation, social withdrawal or non-participation.
Erikson also later correlated this stage with the Freudian Genitality sexual stage, which illustrates the difficulty in
equating Freudian psychosexual theory precisely to Eriksons model. There is a correlation but it is not an
exact fit.
7. Generativity v Stagnation
To make be
To take care of Unconditional,
non-reciprocating care of ones
children, or other altruistic outlets
Generativity derives from the word generation, as in parents and children, and specifically the unconditional
giving that characterises positive parental love and care for their offspring. Erikson acknowledged that this stage also
extends to other productive activities - work and creativity for example - but given his focus on childhood
development, and probably the influence of Freudian theory, Eriksons analysis of this stage was strongly
oriented towards parenting. Generativity potentially extends beyond ones own children, and also to all future
generations, which gives the model ultimately a very modern globally responsible perspective.
Positive outcomes from this crisis stage depend on contributing positively and unconditionally. We might also
see this as an end of self-interest. Having children is not a
78 prerequisite for Generativity, just as being a parent is no
guarantee that Generativity will be achieved. Caring for children is the common Generativity scenario, but success
at this stage actually depends on giving and caring - putting something back into life, to the best of ones
capabilities. Stagnation is an extension of intimacy which turns inward
in the form of self-interest and self-absorption. Its the disposition that represents feelings of selfishness, self-
indulgence, greed, lack of interest in young people and future generations, and the wider world.
Erikson later used the term Self-Absorption instead of Stagnation and then seems to have settled in later work
with the original Stagnation. Stagnation andor Self-Absorption result from not having
an outlet or opportunity for contributing to the good or growth of children and others, and potentially to the wider
world.
8. Integrity v Despair
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